Viewty - nice look, shame about the features. (LG KU990 Viewty)

Member Name: cheersdarlin

Product:	LG KU990 Viewty
Date:	05/06/09 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sleek and cool appearance. Nice menus. Good camera.

Disadvantages: Boring. Not a gadget phone. Lack of usable features.

Background information:
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I was always gawping at college at my friends getting new, funky and stylish touchscreen phones with good features, and I would look down at my flip phone and cry. I really wanted to be more sophisticated, but couldn't afford the extravagance of the iPhone, and wasn't 18 so couldn't get a contract.... so I was delighted when I saw that in tesco, there was a staff offer (I work for them) on getting this phone for a lot cheaper than retail price.
So, after begging my mother, she agreed to help me along my quest for a beautiful touchscreen phone. unfortunately, 6 months on, and thats all it is. Touchscreen.

The Phone:
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Look:

Mine is black. It has a large screen, and a reflective surface which is very stylish. There are three buttons under the screen to be used for turning the phone on and off, calling, hanging up, cancelling functions. I haven't ever used the middle button once in my life, and I have no idea what it does!
Among the black aesthetic, there are flourishes of silver metal, which make the phone a little edgy and cool.

The back of the phone is where you will find the camera. The phone itself here is sleek and simple, which keeps in tone with the laid back appearance. You will find the flash, lens etc here.
There is also a small, silver LG logo, which isn't too bad, but does ruin the black dark cover.

Features:
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I have listed what the manufacturers say, then my opinion underneath:

The Complete Camera Phone
* 5 Megapixel Viewty is a professional level camera phone capable of taking both high quality pictures and superior home videos. The contemporary touch screen and innovative design result in a superb looking handset that continues to enhance consumer usability.

Personal Opinion:
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The camera is very good. 5 mp means you can get sharp and detailed photographs, and the large screen enables them to be viewed bigger, so you can get a proper feel of the image in comparison to smaller screens making photos seem blurry and bad.

High-Specification Camera

* Capture and reproduce images in high-resolution with a 5 megapixel camera certified by Schneider-Kreuznach
* Enjoy various focusing techniques using Manual or Auto Focus
* ISO 800 and SmartLight means that you can capture the best moments even in low light
* Benefit from taking steady pictures with Image Stabiliser and Direct Key
* Catch every detail with High-Speed Video Recording (120 FPS Video Recording)

Personal Opinion:
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Image stabiliser is handy as most photos come out very clear without 'smudge' from movement. However, I have not used the manual focus, as I do not plan to use the camera for proper photography, and I don't think it would be up to standard for that. I use the camera to capture moments of playfulness and random shots. Not with the intention of taking a nice photo. Use a proper digital camera for that, this is only a camera phone.

High-Quality Display

* Discover enhanced viewing with 3 Inch Full Touch Screen and Mobile XDTM
* Enjoy a new level of mobile video experience with DVD-like quality
* Share and enhance your video creation with MuveeTM and Direct Upload to YouTube.com*
* Mobile technology making full Internet browsing possible with Google Package* and Messenger Service*

Personal Opinion:
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Unfortunately, all of the asterix statements have to be paid for, and as I am on Pay as you Go, I havent even bothered cause I don't wanna spend £££s on internet when I can get that on my laptop! It's a shame their isn't free browsing, as that is one feature I crave - facebook on my mobile!

Easy Control

* Freedom of expression with Handwriting Recognition and Editing
* Effortless control with Jog Wheel and 3-Step Module Key
* Several features may change depending on service provider

Personal Opinion:
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Handwriting tool is cool if you can get to grips with it. It is fun to use, and I really enjoy playing around with the feature if I have time to spare, but otherwise it's time consuming. There is a good keyboard function which I use to text. I have tiny fingers though, so it's easy for me, but some have encountered difficulties using it without the handy pen that comes with the phone.

The 'jog wheel' (also camera zoom and volume control) is fustrating. You can't really use it to scroll, as it is awkward to reach and has a lot of resistance beneath the fingers. I never use it. I just manually scroll and select with my fingers.


Viewty Accessories

* In-box contents include:
* Main battery
* Main charger
* User guide
* Stereo headphones
* USB cable
* CD (including LG PC Suite and DivX Converter)
* Hand strap and stylus pen

You get a good amount of stuff in the box, but there is one of these I MUST mention.

CD software = bollocks. I have had a lot of trouble uploading it, and when it has finally uploaded is hasn't worked.
I have tried internet versions which all fail aswell.
I gave up in the end!

Software still remains unaccessible.

Other elements:

The menus are basically buttons depicting an image of a message or games console etc for where you are trying to access. I do like this feature, it makes the phone more stylish.

Themes:

There are only 3 themes. Black, Silver and Fish.
I use the black, as it kids itself its an iPhone. Which it certainly isn't.
Silver is the same as black, but more grey. It would work better on the silver handset.
And Fish is blue/green. It doesn't stay in keeping with the slick appearance, but the animated fish is cute! If you tap the screen, it swims to your finger!

Overall:

It's ok. Nice camera, nice navigation and a slick appearance, but expensive browsing and lack of other useful features do hinder the phone.

I wouldn't reccomend for someone looking for a touchscreen phone with gadgets. Go for a tocco or iPhone for those.

Thanks for reading! xx

Summary: Ok - nothing special Go for the tocco varieties or iPhone.

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